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PRESIDENT TO RESHUFFLE POLICE TOP BRASS
JAKARTA - President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono promised Tuesday to replace the country's much-maligned chiefs of police and prosecutors but denied the reshuffle was linked to corruption and incompetence.
His comments to cabinet ministers came as a businessman was sentenced to four years in jail for attempting to bribe anti-graft investigators with the alleged backing of top police and prosecutors.
The case shocked the nation when it broke last year but it was far from an isolated incident, with reports of alleged judicial graft and misconduct filling the pages of the local newspapers on a daily basis.
Yudhoyono said the law enforcement agencies needed to be professional and "fair", and called for any official found to be involved in wrongdoing to be punished.
"If any police members or prosecutors are involved in any violations, measures should be taken against them according to the law with transparency and high accountability," he said.
National police chief General Bambang Hendarso Danuri and Attorney General Hendarman Supandji would be replaced along with the head of the armed forces as part of a scheduled reshuffle, he said.
"These officials will end their terms in line with the existing law," he said, adding that he was "not pleased" by suggestions the changes were political.
The reshuffle is expected to take place in October and speculation is mounting about who will take over the embattled institutions.
Yudhoyono has won two elections on the back of promises to stamp out chronic corruption but his reform efforts have stalled amid opposition from vested interests including lawmakers and police.
There have been repeated calls for Danuri and Supandji to stand down, especially over the case of businessman Anggodo Widjojo who was jailed for four years earlier Tuesday for attempted bribery.
Top police and prosecutors allegedly led a conspiracy to bring down the anti-corruption agency by using Widjojo to frame two of its senior investigators.
AFP
